Reality and Other Games
by AspieSays
Summary: Less is set in stone than one might think. Who is the woman that needs Jack's help? And why is the Doctor's prophetic warning seemingly going nowhere?
1. Prologue

Chapter 1: Prologue

**Author's Notes:** Prologue to 'Reality and Other Games'; to be continued. Spoilers through to Children of Earth.

* * *

Everyone had gone. The Hub was deserted. Jack felt a little miffed that once again Ianto had buggered off without saying goodbye.

There was a note on his desk.

'You were asleep. Night. x'

Succinct. It made him feel a little better.

Suddenly there was a loud mechanical noise. Just the lift down from ground level. Probably an insomniac Ianto back for 'overtime'.

"Jack!"

Jack looked up, the voice was unfamiliar. Female; and definitely not Gwen's cadence.

"Are you there?" The voice shouted, closer now. Jack did nothing.

There was a loud knock on the door.

"C'mon, Jack!"

She was knocking. If she could get in, she would have.

"Who are you?"

"Look, this is important, and I'm tired. I just need to talk to you!"

"Why should I?"

Jack wondered if he was being paranoid, but there was an edge to her voice, an authority, a hidden, rather than overt danger.

_You can't die, you stupid bastard. Even so, you're not afraid of this._

"I don't wanna break the door down. Bit...forward-just let me in, please!"

"Who are you?"

"It's a long story..."

Jack walked towards the door.

"If you don't help me, Torchwood will be destroyed, so many people will die...you, repeatedly; Ianto, so many civilians..."

She paused.

"And Steven."

"Says who!"

"Says the future if you don't help me! I need your help! We have to change something, help something, to fix this..."

"'Fix' the future? Not even..."

"Because this isn't that timeline, it's got to be altered. You have to help me...that can't happen because it doen't happen, not in this reality!"

"Save your grandson. Save Ianto. Save everyone. I need your help. Will you help me?"

"For the good of humanity?"

"Oh, for a second there I thought you'd say no. C'mon, then."

_Why do I do these things?_


	2. Chapter 1 The Doctor

Prophecies are always a bit vague. Still; 'he will knock four times'-ominous enough to be depressing, but mystifying enough to dismiss. Fabulous.

_A mistake has been made._

This wasn't denial. This just wasn't correct. This just wasn't happening. This was wrong. No, _that_ was wrong.

But why would he be told, 'your song is ending', if it blatantly wasn't?

Unless this was something even beyond the scope of an Ood collective.

For all they knew, this _was_ an accurate warning.

_Oh, stupid, of course...there's been a neotemporal split. It's finished! It's over! No dying! Not in this reality, anyway..._

This called for some sort of celebration. Though it was beyond him how big a celebration would be appropriate. Psychic paper; bluff his way into a concert for the umpteenth time?

But as he picked it up, there were co-ordinates scribbled there, flashing. A mystery-normality-now there was a celebration.

The co-ordinates were London. West End. Leicester Square. The north-east corner, if he remembered correctly. It was slightly earlier than last time he visited; 2009, probably, not long after the destruction of the Daleks-among other things.

There was nothing out of the ordinary, just the crowd and the famous theatres; the beige stone statue of Shakespeare surrounded by benches and trees and people.

He looked around.

Nobody seemed to notice a giant blue box appear on the grass a few hundred yards away from the statue.

Mind you, quite a few of them had their backs to it.

He contemplated his surroundings again. Why here? There must be something. Something hard to find? That was even better. He decided to venture out into the square. As he turned to close the door, he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

On the ground behind the TARDIS, barely visible, was someone's hand. The Doctor approached gingerly; the hand was too pink to be a deceased person, hopefully.

As he turned the corner he prepared himself for the worst.

He could see they were breathing, thankfully. There was a note. "Don't walk away. It's all been fixed."-stuck to the back of the TARDIS.

And then he took a proper look.

Then he felt like both of his hearts would stop.

It was Donna.

He put his hand on her arm. Surveyed her. He sat her up gently. Strangely, she wasn't even cold, she hadn't been out here long at all.

This was planned. She was wearing the same clothes as she had been when he'd had to alter her memory.

He just stared at her, for what seemed like forever.

Suddenly she stirred and her eyes fluttered for a second and then opened.

Then his hearts did stop.

_She recognised him._


	3. Chapter 2 The Alternative Is

"So, you know, who are you anyway?"

"Trust me, it's a long story."

"We have a long time..."

"Where's your Vortex Manipulator?"

"Oh, it's broken, and I lost it anyway."

"Oh, yeah, I already have it!"

"When the hell was...?"

She was wearing a black coat, and she fished it out of her left outside pocket. He couldn't help no she had a lot of brown hair, past her shoulders. She had sunglasses on, even inside.

"Don't even think about it."

"Fine."

"C'mere, now!" She grabbed his arm roughly, and slammed the Vortex Manipulator.

Within nanoseconds, there was a dizzying, sickening thud, as they both emerged, in that dazzling, nauseating, Vortex Manipulator way.

It was night. Cold. Spitting. The English countryside. Something made Jack uneasy.

"This needs to be fixed. I'm keeping this," she said resolutely. "You're going _nowhere_."

"I don't suppose I ever gonna know who you are, am I?"

"We have to sort this. Follow me."

She started walking, fast.

"This is quite late in the day, but it maximises the chances of our outcome, and not the alternative one. It's not our reality and it needs to be fixed. One universe with a dead Ianto is enough. Too many?"

"How do...?"

"Right, rule one, if you knew what the alternative was you'd definitely trust me, rule two, trust me, rule three, you run off and I will hunt you down until you help me, so there's no point, you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

"Are you ever going to let me talk?"

"Maybe."

"Can I...?"

"1965? Was it wrong?"

Jack was taken aback. "How do you...?"

"This is important."

Jack looked crestfallen. "Absolutely. D'you think I would...?"

"I don't know," she said. "I'm still not sure about Torchwood; you look far too much like a vigilante time agent, if you ask me. But I'm happy that's a bit inaccurate."

"What? Why the hell d'you think you can do better?"

"Because I can!"

"Says who!"

"Says me! And you better help me! You have to see this, and you have to help me. Help me prove there's hope!"

"Lemme guess, you got some substitute? For the children? They'll see through..."

"Not quite. Oh, I don't want to do this, I really don't."

"Why?"

"They're _liars_, Jack! They're coming back! 2009! For more...and so many people are going to be sacrificed to end it. That never has to happen!"

Jack was dumbfounded. It seemed so obvious, now she said it, but he never considered it.

_You idiot!_

_The way they'd intended._

"We have to stop them going back on their promise."

"Destroy them?"

"That's _exactly_ why I don't know what'd you thought, Jack! That!"

"Why are you talking to me like you know me! Like you know..."

"What are the children to the 456?"

"What?"

"A drug," she stated bluntly. "An addictive high. What do you do with someone with an addiction?"

Jack smiled knowingly, but almost reluctantly. "Rehab."

"Just trust me. This ends. Right now."

She looked into his eyes, defiant, even through the sunglasses.

"Right, we can go in the warm now. Get back here!"

She doubled back, and grabbed his arm, in the same rough manner, and slammed down on the Vortex Manipulator, again.

"What was the point...?"

"Trust me, I've done this before. Oh, and I'm keeping the Vortex Manipulator for now."


	4. Chapter 3 Donna

Reality by AspieSays

**Summary:** Less is set in stone than one might think. Who is the woman that needs Jack's help? And why is the Doctor's prophetic warning seemingly going nowhere?  
**Rating:** Teen  
**Categories:** Tenth Doctor  
**Characters:** Donna Noble, Jack Harkness, Martha Jones, Other Character(s), The Doctor (10th), Torchwood, Wilfred Mott  
**Genres:** Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Character Study, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Series  
**Warnings:** Explicit Violence, Swearing  
**Challenges:** None  
**Series:** Reality and Other Games, Alternative Universe  
**Published: **2010.08.01  
**Updated: **2010.08.10 

**Index**

Chapter 1: Prologue  
Chapter 2: Chapter 1- The Doctor  
Chapter 3: Chapter 2- The Alternative Is...  
Chapter 4: Chapter 3- Donna  
Chapter 5: Chapter 4- Martha  
Chapter 6: Chapter 5- Negotiation  
Chapter 7: Chapter 6- The Nature of Insanity  
Chapter 8: Interlude- Aggie  
Chapter 9: Chapter 7- Like It Should Be?

Chapter 1: Prologue

**Author's Notes:** Prologue to 'Reality and Other Games'; to be continued. Spoilers through to Children of Earth.

* * *

Everyone had gone. The Hub was deserted. Jack felt a little miffed that once again Ianto had buggered off without saying goodbye.

There was a note on his desk.

'You were asleep. Night. x'

Succinct. It made him feel a little better.

Suddenly there was a loud mechanical noise. Just the lift down from ground level. Probably an insomniac Ianto back for 'overtime'.

"Jack!"

Jack looked up, the voice was unfamiliar. Female; and definitely not Gwen's cadence.

"Are you there?" The voice shouted, closer now. Jack did nothing.

There was a loud knock on the door.

"C'mon, Jack!"

She was knocking. If she could get in, she would have.

"Who are you?"

"Look, this is important, and I'm tired. I just need to talk to you!"

"Why should I?"

Jack wondered if he was being paranoid, but there was an edge to her voice, an authority, a hidden, rather than overt danger.

_You can't die, you stupid bastard. Even so, you're not afraid of this._

"I don't wanna break the door down. Bit...forward-just let me in, please!"

"Who are you?"

"It's a long story..."

Jack walked towards the door.

"If you don't help me, Torchwood will be destroyed, so many people will die...you, repeatedly; Ianto, so many civilians..."

She paused.

"And Steven."

"Says who!"

"Says the future if you don't help me! I need your help! We have to change something, help something, to fix this..."

"'Fix' the future? Not even..."

"Because this isn't that timeline, it's got to be altered. You have to help me...that can't happen because it doen't happen, not in this reality!"

"Save your grandson. Save Ianto. Save everyone. I need your help. Will you help me?"

"For the good of humanity?"

"Oh, for a second there I thought you'd say no. C'mon, then."

_Why do I do these things?_

Back to index

* * *

Chapter 2: Chapter 1- The Doctor

**Author's Notes:** Second part of 'Reality and Other Games'. Spoilers to end of Tenth Doctor era.

* * *

Prophecies are always a bit vague. Still; 'he will knock four times'-ominous enough to be depressing, but mystifying enough to dismiss. Fabulous.

_A mistake has been made._

This wasn't denial. This just wasn't correct. This just wasn't happening. This was wrong. No, _that_ was wrong.

But why would he be told, 'your song is ending', if it blatantly wasn't?

Unless this was something even beyond the scope of an Ood collective.

For all they knew, this _was_ an accurate warning.

_Oh, stupid, of course...there's been a neotemporal split. It's finished! It's over! No dying! Not in this reality, anyway..._

This called for some sort of celebration. Though it was beyond him how big a celebration would be appropriate. Psychic paper; bluff his way into a concert for the umpteenth time?

But as he picked it up, there were co-ordinates scribbled there, flashing. A mystery-normality-now there was a celebration.

The co-ordinates were London. West End. Leicester Square. The north-east corner, if he remembered correctly. It was slightly earlier than last time he visited; 2009, probably, not long after the destruction of the Daleks-among other things.

There was nothing out of the ordinary, just the crowd and the famous theatres; the beige stone statue of Shakespeare surrounded by benches and trees and people.

He looked around.

Nobody seemed to notice a giant blue box appear on the grass a few hundred yards away from the statue.

Mind you, quite a few of them had their backs to it.

He contemplated his surroundings again. Why here? There must be something. Something hard to find? That was even better. He decided to venture out into the square. As he turned to close the door, he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

On the ground behind the TARDIS, barely visible, was someone's hand. The Doctor approached gingerly; the hand was too pink to be a deceased person, hopefully.

As he turned the corner he prepared himself for the worst.

He could see they were breathing, thankfully. There was a note. "Don't walk away. It's all been fixed."-stuck to the back of the TARDIS.

And then he took a proper look.

Then he felt like both of his hearts would stop.

It was Donna.

He put his hand on her arm. Surveyed her. He sat her up gently. Strangely, she wasn't even cold, she hadn't been out here long at all.

This was planned. She was wearing the same clothes as she had been when he'd had to alter her memory.

He just stared at her, for what seemed like forever.

Suddenly she stirred and her eyes fluttered for a second and then opened.

Then his hearts did stop.

_She recognised him._

Back to index

* * *

Chapter 3: Chapter 2- The Alternative Is...

**Author's Notes:** Spoilers through Children of Earth.

* * *

"So, you know, who are you anyway?"

"Trust me, it's a long story."

"We have a long time..."

"Where's your Vortex Manipulator?"

"Oh, it's broken, and I lost it anyway."

"Oh, yeah, I already have it!"

"When the hell was...?"

She was wearing a black coat, and she fished it out of her left outside pocket. He couldn't help no she had a lot of brown hair, past her shoulders. She had sunglasses on, even inside.

"Don't even think about it."

"Fine."

"C'mere, now!" She grabbed his arm roughly, and slammed the Vortex Manipulator.

Within nanoseconds, there was a dizzying, sickening thud, as they both emerged, in that dazzling, nauseating, Vortex Manipulator way.

It was night. Cold. Spitting. The English countryside. Something made Jack uneasy.

"This needs to be fixed. I'm keeping this," she said resolutely. "You're going _nowhere_."

"I don't suppose I ever gonna know who you are, am I?"

"We have to sort this. Follow me."

She started walking, fast.

"This is quite late in the day, but it maximises the chances of our outcome, and not the alternative one. It's not our reality and it needs to be fixed. One universe with a dead Ianto is enough. Too many?"

"How do...?"

"Right, rule one, if you knew what the alternative was you'd definitely trust me, rule two, trust me, rule three, you run off and I will hunt you down until you help me, so there's no point, you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

"Are you ever going to let me talk?"

"Maybe."

"Can I...?"

"1965? Was it wrong?"

Jack was taken aback. "How do you...?"

"This is important."

Jack looked crestfallen. "Absolutely. D'you think I would...?"

"I don't know," she said. "I'm still not sure about Torchwood; you look far too much like a vigilante time agent, if you ask me. But I'm happy that's a bit inaccurate."

"What? Why the hell d'you think you can do better?"

"Because I can!"

"Says who!"

"Says me! And you better help me! You have to see this, and you have to help me. Help me prove there's hope!"

"Lemme guess, you got some substitute? For the children? They'll see through..."

"Not quite. Oh, I don't want to do this, I really don't."

"Why?"

"They're _liars_, Jack! They're coming back! 2009! For more...and so many people are going to be sacrificed to end it. That never has to happen!"

Jack was dumbfounded. It seemed so obvious, now she said it, but he never considered it.

_You idiot!_

_The way they'd intended._

"We have to stop them going back on their promise."

"Destroy them?"

"That's _exactly_ why I don't know what'd you thought, Jack! That!"

"Why are you talking to me like you know me! Like you know..."

"What are the children to the 456?"

"What?"

"A drug," she stated bluntly. "An addictive high. What do you do with someone with an addiction?"

Jack smiled knowingly, but almost reluctantly. "Rehab."

"Just trust me. This ends. Right now."

She looked into his eyes, defiant, even through the sunglasses.

"Right, we can go in the warm now. Get back here!"

She doubled back, and grabbed his arm, in the same rough manner, and slammed down on the Vortex Manipulator, again.

"What was the point...?"

"Trust me, I've done this before. Oh, and I'm keeping the Vortex Manipulator for now."

Back to index

* * *

Chapter 4: Chapter 3- Donna

**The previous evening.**

Donna was babbling into the phone, chattering away to some friend or other, for the third time that evening. Wilfred peered around the door to the kitchen, and watched her, sadly.

He was careful not to let her see, she'd already come up to him and asked, genuinely, but abrasively;

_"What's with your face?"_

He wondered how hard it would be not to tell her.

It didn't matter anyway, he'd made a promise, and she couldn't know; it would kill her.

It had only been a few hours. This wasn't going to be fun.

***  
Sylvia was at a friends' and Donna was upstairs, probably still texting Soyna about 'things she'd missed', as she now called them.

Wilfred decided now would be a good time to honour his promise to the Doctor, so he set about making a Thermos of tea to take with him; he intended to stay there for as long as possible.

There was a knock at the door.

Who would it be, at this time?

He opened the door. There was a stranger on the doorstep. A girl, eighteen, maybe, standing there. She looked like something from, what was it called? That film with the slow motion and all the people dressed in long black coats.

"Wilfred?"

"Yeah, what can I do for you?"

"I can help Donna."

"Help her remember?"

He didn't know why, but he felt he could trust her.

"I know he said it couldn't be fixed, but I can fix it!"

She smiled.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses when it's dark?"

She giggled.

"Because I'm mysterious!"

"Who are you?"

"Is Donna there?"

"Yeah, she's upstairs-but I don't see her going quietly."

"Sleeping pills?"

"You know, just this once..."

-

Wilfred gave Donna the cup of tea, and waited.

When she was asleep, they both lifted her carefully down the stairs and out of the front door.

"Down there, I have a car."

The car turned out to some sort of 50s sedan, cream with dark red bodywork.

"I'm not known for being inconspicuous. I just like this car."

She turned her leg around at an angle, lodged her foot into the handle and opened the door.

"Do one thing for me. Find the Doctor."

She looked at him, he could feel her eyes boring behind the sunglasses.

"And leave her with him? What did you think I would do?"

"Why do I trust you?"

"Because I'm trustworthy."

They hoisted Donna into the front passenger seat, which seemed to be only half welded to the floor.

"How do you know the Doctor?"

"Because, he's a legend. Annoying legend, but still..."

"You talk in more riddles than he does."

"It catches." She grinned.

"I'll look after her. I swear on my life. Unless you want to come?"

"Nah, you''ll tell him to bring her to see me in five minutes, won't you?"

"With his timing, a little more than that, but yeah, I promise."

"One more thing. Who are you?"

She sighed.

"Aggie, Aggie Brown."

"I trust you, Aggie Brown."

"I don't know why..." she replied. "For all you know, I'm some megalomaniac out to kill her."

"Nah, I can tell."

"He said you were on the ball."

"Who?"

"Who d'you think? Your Doctor man..."

Wilfred smiled.

"Why do I trust you? The Doctor -"

"...Does. And that's good enough for you."

"Absolutely."

"That man has too much power!" said Aggie earnestly. "It's time Mr Flappy Coat had a slightly smaller ego."

"He really inspires loyalty doesn't he?"

"You don't say...see you soon, then!"

She gave him a massive smile and closed the door.

"You too, and thank you...!"

She walked around the other side of the car, waved at him, and then promptly got in, started the engine and drove away.

Wilfred stared after her for a good minute, and found himself feeling distinctly euphoric.

***

The '56 Chevrolet sedan came to a juddering holt. Aggie got out. She had driven it into the carpark of a closed-down petrol station that she'd noted.

"This better bloody work."

She rooted around in her pocket.

"I'd be much more comfortable if I had to strap her to some massive machine..." She said to herself, almost with distaste. "Mind you, it worked last time, but last time wasn't no meta-crisis."

_You could say it as just as ingrained, though. Oh, way, way more ingrained..._

She pulled a small, rectangular device from her pocket. It was reminiscent of a USB stick, but instead had the tiniest of probes on the end of it. She could feel it thrumming in her hand.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." she chided.

She opened the door.

"I've done all I can with you. Now, work, damn you!"

Get it over with. She touched the end of the probe to Donna's temple.

Donna moaned loudly, and the device glowed.

Aggie got into the car, and closed the door, leaning awkwardly to keep the probe exactly where it was.

The device thrummed louder and Donna began to scream.

_This is why he only used the Chameleon Arch in an emergency._

Aggie tried her utmost to ignore the sound and keep holding the device to the side of Donna's head.

30 seconds.

Just 30 seconds and she would be Donna again.

30 seconds.

Aggie concentrated as hard as she could to keep it still.

The screams got progressively louder, and then stopped abruptly.

Aggie waited anxiously.

The device emitted four staccato, high-pitched bleeps, and glowed green.

She almost squealed with delight. All systems go.

Next stop...where? Where should he pick her up from? Somewhere nice, in the city, but with a few trees.

_Tomorrow morning. Leicester Square._


	5. Chapter 4 Martha

Chapter 4- Martha

**Author's Notes:** Spoilers to Children of Earth. Chapters getting longer, despite best efforts!  
Very wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey.  
Hopefully I got the commas right in the speech this time...

* * *

It had been a month since _the Crucible. _

Martha had been idealistic, bounding off with Jack and Mickey. She had become Torchwood Three's 'medical advisor'- she decided it would be best to be freelance, as had Mickey.

It'd got off to a good start. Three months in, she found herself with a cold shoulder from Tom, who understandably her thought moving Cardiff was a clear enough message; she had to make something ridiculous up about a course to her family.

Jack had vanished off the face of the Earth, Ianto had been roped in to babysit his sister's children two days a week, and spent the rest of the time pining after Captain Harkness, and Gwen regularly took her on 'missions' that either involved some small alien pet that had escaped from the Rift or an abundance of cocktails on the waterfront, or at her and Rhys' place.

After many phone conversations, Tom had had enough; that's the wedding buggered then. She mourned him, but not for as long as she thought she would.

There was some clumsy flirting with Mickey, and Martha felt a tinge of that niggling, 'I'm Rose's stand-in' vibe once again, but they'd managed to agree to have drinks, which was scuppered when she went into the back of a van near the high street.

She couldn't remember what had distracted her for that split second, not that it mattered; she still had whiplash to show for it.

It went nowhere. Mickey did a typical man and disappeared into the ether.-'off kicking alien arse', perhaps?

Martha tried to do the same, but every time she found something intriguing, it was a dead end, or Ianto and Gwen had already got a good way into fixing it. Or maybe she wasn't trying hard enough. Maybe she didn't _want_ to try hard enough.

Damn aliens.

It was a rainy morning. Martha was thinking how expensive bloody Cardiff was and why the hell was she here, anyway?

She wanted to cry, but she didn't.

_This is your fucking fault, deal with it._

She phoned her Mum, and carried on the farce about a course she was on; at least it made her feel less lonely. Things were bad enough without parading this catastrophic failure of planning and maturity to her mother.

She'd told Tish-mention Tom, the wedding's off, but leave the rest out. Tish maintained there wasn't much of it left, but reassured her she'd earned some downtime and she'd try not to stir. Much.

Martha's phone rang jsut as she was leaving to go shopping. She didn't recognise the number.

"Hello?"

"Martha, it's Jack, are you busy?"

"Definitely not."

"Look, I'm sorry about all this, but, there's been a few issues, I was meant to be back, weeks ago...but there was...an emergency-"

"Where are you?"

"I don't actually know. Look, this is really important and nothing bad; and you say nothing to those two."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it," he answered roughly.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course."

Oh, men, and their 'of course'. Second only to 'I'm always alright.'

"Is there anything I can do?"

"That slow, huh?"

"It's like...someone doesn't want me here, it's that slow..."

"Do you want to go back?"

"Go back where?"

"Already?"

"To what?"

"Saving the universe!"

"I am, technically..."

"I don't mean Cardiff saving the universe, more like...TARDIS-size saving the universe."

"If the Doctor's there, he can ask me himself!"

"No, he's not, but I think you'll find who I with good company. Where are you exactly, I'lll come get you."

"I'll wait outside the Millennium Centre."

"Time and date would be good...oh, wait it's on the phone...Just bring a few clothes, this shouldn't be no...year-long trip."

"Ha, ha, Jack! Are you sure this doesn't involve-"

"Not unless he's invisible, he's fine though, sends me photos, the last one was, London, I think, he kept sending pictures of traffic-oh and an Easter egg-he baffles me- lucky he messed with the phones, I keep getting photos from next year, you know, the usual..."

"Typical."

"See you soon, Doctor Jones..."

***

Martha waited in the rain for twenty minutes and started to think maybe she'd been too hopeful. She tried to look nonchalant, and gripped the handle of her umbrella.

Just then, there was a hissing bang, and Jack tumbled into view, and fell forward.

There was a girl in a black coat holding on to his arm.

"I'm perfectly capable of..."

"I'm not letting you take that on your own," she said curtly, wincing.

"I thought the Doctor disabled that."

The girl gave her a good-natured, inquisitive look.

"Well, it's been re...abled."

"Don't ask."

"Jack! We were worried, and you know Ianto's been moaning..."

"I've told him. But once a committment-phobe, always a..."

"Yes, thank you...!"

"Well, nearly always."

"Aggie!"

Martha watched incredulously.

"Oh, Martha, Aggie, Aggie, Martha. She's talked like this since she trespassed on Torchwood property."

"If you're beyond the law, you're obviously beyond _property_ law..."

Jack sighed, still dizzy.

"You can't have it both ways..."

"Stop."

"Fine, are we going, or not?"

Martha grinned.

"Why not!"

"Not you aswell!"

Aggie grabbed Jack's arm, and Martha closed the unbrella, put it in her bag of clothes and copied her, taking care to grasp it securely.

In a flash, they landed roughly on asphalt, just outside a car park, at twilight.

Aggie resolutely stood up and walked away, trying to pretend she wasn't remotely winded and breathtakingly dizzy. She was walking in distinct zig-zags, but seemingly ignoring this fact.

"Is she always like this?" gasped Martha, watching Aggie's feet wobble away.

"I told you you'd enjoy her company!" said Jack, through gritted teeth. "She's so much _fun_!"

"I hope she's not too much fun!"

"Oh, give me some credit!"

"Trust me, I'm giving you a lot."

"Not now!"

She pointed her head down at the floor, and breathed deeply.

She looked up, and Aggie was inches away.

"Oh my God!"

"If he tries anything, his life won't be worth living!"

She smiled manaically and bounded away again.

"I told you you'd like her. What do you think?"

"I think we should find the Doctor, and give him the pleasure of meeting her."

Jack smiled.

"I think that'd be dangerous!"

"Oh, come on!"

Aggie was already on the other side of the car park, standing next to her Chevrolet, and waving.

"That isn't a TARDIS, is it?"

"Thankfully not."

"Yeah, 'cause the Vortex Manipulator is _so_ much better!" Aggie bellowed at them.

"Why are you all Londoners?"

"What are we doing?"

"Preventing something awful from happening," said Jack matter-of-factly, standing up.

"The Doctor's right, the Earth seems to be in danger alarmingly frequently."

"Yeah, and it's not gonna fix itself!"

***

Aggie explained to Martha, more calmly than she had to Jack, what was happening. Jack looked despondent.

"I understand. Normally, I'd say, it's abhorrent, well, it is, actually..."

"Moving on..."

"The point is, they lied, and they're coming back, this time, for ten percent. Sometime this year." said Jack, bitterly. "You never know, that could just be the beginning."

"Ten percent of Earth's children! That's another plane of morality, once again..."

"Biggest reason not to do drugs, ever..." Aggie suddenly looked melancholy. "We have to sort this."

"Whatever it takes."

Aggie's eyes shone at Martha.

"Oh, you _are_ good!"

"Told you."

"Tell him it won't change anything," said Aggie.

"I understand," said Martha, not quite meeting his gaze.

Aggie sighed.

"Shall we?"


	6. Chapter 5 Negotiation

Chapter 5- Negotiation

**Author's Notes:** Spoilers through to _Children of Earth_. Chapters still getting longer...

* * *

"We have to make sure this never happens, well, because it doesn't happen. If it does, this timeline will become more like another, and I've already fixed a few things, so it would be disastrous."

"Already..?"

"One thing must be made clear. There's nothing I can do for the children, after what they've probably done to them. I'm sorry."

"It's what I expected," said Jack simply.

Martha nodded.

"They must be extremely advanced beings and advanced being have new way of using people. It's common sense."

"Relatively...and I couldn't intervene. History says that that's definitely the origin of the cure for Spanish influenza. It's not the way I would have done it..."

Martha stopped.

"Meet the Doctor? You sound like you already have."

Aggie looked at her patronisingly.

"Oh, yeah, definitely," said Martha assuredly.

Aggie smiled broadly.

"He thinks you're brilliant."

"Well, obviously..."

"How do you know him?"

"I'm like you, I save the universe."

Martha wasn't sure whether this was an answer or not.

"I've triangulated their current location, thank you radio waves."

"And thank you Jack and the Hub."

"Hub? Tch, if looks like a bloody tube station down there, awful decor."

Jack shook his head.

"Great."

"It's too, grungy. Look, I like grunge, okay, rock on Nirvana, but that's just, it's weird down there, and this one..." she tilted her head towards Jack.

"...sleeps under what can only be described as a manhole cover."

"It _is_ a manhole cover!"

"It's like 'Faux Victorian Tube Station Theme'. No thanks. All to their own."

"I have a bed!"

"Use it then. I'm all for open-mindedness, but I think, once in a while, it's nice to be old-fashioned."

Martha couldn't help but laugh. Jack just looked perplexed.

"Oh, yeah, play dumb. Right, here we go."

She beckoned them.

"Coming from someone who wears sunglasses indoors."

"I'm no Doctor. I know exactly what I'm getting into. This should take half an hour, tops, minor injuries only."

"Don't be glib."

"I always get what I want." she said bluntly. "I say no one gets hurt. _No one gets hurt._"

"Why did I listen to you?"

"Duh, because _I wanted you to_!" she cried.

And she slammed the button on the Vortex Manipulator.

They were suddenly thrown forward into what could only be described as Ancient Rome, but with buildings made of twisted metal, and copper. And distinctly colder.

"Ew, it's like we are an influence on them. God knows how long they've been spying on us..."

"I thought Messaline was depressing- I hitched a ride there once, don't tell the Doctor. Too many guns. Bad history."

"That piece of time-travel technology doesn't actually belong to you," said Jack half-seriously, eyeing the Vortex Manipulator.

"Don't tell the..."

"Jenny buggered off with a spaceship, it was hot gossip, goodness knows where she is. He thinks she's dead, " she added, seeing Jack's face.

"What?"

Martha gaped.

"How long did you travel with him!"

"Meh, year or so, on and off."

"Wait, hold on..."

"Oh, did he take you to...?"

"Can we do this later?" Jack grumbled. "We all love the Doctor, hands up on that one...wait, why is he helping with this? Why didn't you ask him?"

"If you choose to tell him about 1965, that's fine, but I have no right to do that. I know his opinion on these things. He might take my view, he might not, it depends what place he's in, I've not seen him for a while, so, not sure on that one."

"Are we doing this or not?"

"It's okay, they're not expecting us for twenty minutes."

"Expecting us?"

"Yeah, negotiation not retaliation."

Jack sighed.

"Yeah, it's the right thing to do."

"Good."

"Why do you need us to do this?"

"Three heads are better than one. Oh, by the way, they have three heads, by the way- but you might not see them."

***

"It's a ghost town."

"Nah, this is just a non-terrestrial 'foyer'. It's all underground. 25% nitrosyl chloride, 22% hydrogen chloride, 20% nitrogen, 12% fluorine, 9% hydrogen cyanide, 6% acetone, and 6% phosgene is their optimum...yeah, yeah, we could breathe that..!"

She giggled.

"It's too late, the Doctor has corrupted her." Martha announced.

"Oh, nice. I read up on it, I'm prepared."

"Yeah, we're not!"

"Well, you are now. Anyway they're up there..."

She pointed to a huge skyscraper, made in the same style, twenty stories of concrete building, like the others, but on a much grander scale, Romanesque, but covered in twisted metal for 'decoration'.

"It screams 'forbidding'. doesn't it?" said Aggie, gleefully.

Jack looked annoyed.

"I perfectly aware of the gravity of the situation, Jack," she stated.

"Act it then!"

"I'm not here to listen to your judgement, I included you in this because you, like Martha, are good, and you are not better than me. Or anyone. _Comprendez_?"

"I don't even know who you are!"

"I don't really know who you are either, but I'm trusting you, still. Get a life! This is bigger than just you, so why don't you be quiet?"

She marched away.

Jack hesitated.

"Go on, then!" Martha said emphatically. "Go on!"

Jack sighed bitterly and walked after her.

They reached the extraodinarily high metal doors of the skyscraper.

Aggie leaned in to the intercom.

"Brown, on behalf of the Human Race, meeting with the Ambassador, regarding the Shipment," she hesitated. "I repeat. Pre-arranged and not armed. Accompanied by plus two, also not armed."

She looked at Jack.

"What?"

"You know what."

A deep voice answered.

"Entry approved. You have ten minutes to explain yourself to his Excellency."

"Thank you."

"Ten minutes?"

"Don't wreck this. It took me my utmost to get _just_ this,"

"I was there," Jack replied.

"Not all the time you weren't."

The door swung open, to reveal a foyer, all grey metal, once again, and another door on the back wall.

"Aesthetics isn't very important to them, methinks."

"You can make jokes, but I can't...?"

She ignored him and walked in. She felt unnerved, but she was damned if Jack was going to know. She crossed the foyer, rapidly. No time to waste.

"All underground," Martha mused, looking at the corrugated iron ceiling.

"It's all for show," Aggie replied. "Their society has no need for all this, it's a show, to try and show the universe they're more sophisticated and humane than they actually are."

"Lovely," replied Martha, pulling a face. "So how do they function?"

"They live in atmosphere tanks, all for show, and as for most endeavors like that, mostly in vain."

The door at the back of the foyer opened up into another corridor of relentless grey.

There was a door on the left side of the what looked like half a mile of metal, which was larger than the others, and had a plaque in the centre, a piece of black marble, covered in a undulating, swirly and definitely alien font.

"I'm guessing it means 'Ambassador's Office'," Abbie said straightforwardly.

Martha was fascinated.

"Why isn't it on the top floor?"

"They're not copying you completely!" Aggie retorted.

Aggie took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Ennn-ttt-eee-rrr," she mocked, quietly, in a deep voice. "They speak good English, I think it's their favourite sub-genre, it's quite creepy."

Martha found herself grinning madly. Jack just looked stony-faced.

"Enter!" called a voice from inside, remarkably similar to the one Aggie had just used.

Aggie entered gingerly.

Martha noted they literally seemed to be going to talk to a tank full of gas; it was almost opaque.

"Your Excellency, my name is Brown. These are my friends, Jones and Harkness. I believe you know why we're here?"

A voice came out of what was seemingly an overhead speaker, out of sight.

"Yes, I have been informed; what do you suggest?"

"I suggest, approaching you, under Convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation, as I informed you, that if you want to return to Earth, you are contravening Galactic Law; threatening a level five planet. I have reason to believe this is for recreational purposes. This action also contravenes Article 57b, quote, 'if no law is broken, parties are also forbidden to use the population of the planet for any purpose."

Martha was impressed.

"What do you suggest is done instead of going against this _law_!"

Aggie looked at Jack.

"In addition to this, did you or did you not imply this was a single exchange?" He asked curtly.

"Ah, Harkness, so inevitable you would make that assumption. What is to be done instead, what could possbily be equivalent?"

"You do not need Human beings to sustain life on this planet. Even if you did, it is not justifiable to kill, wound, maim, torture or otherwise harm another planet's population, whatever the level. This might be law, but it's also truth. I have an offer for you."

"Go on."

"You want to seem more acceptable? Acceptability will never be found, by any decent race, anyway, in the self-serving deaths of Earth's children. Scoff if you want to, but I have an alternative that will mean the same outcome. Am I to assume correctly; you cannot possibly truly enjoy this suffering...I suggest to you, respectfully, that it is bravado, you have lost your way, but I don't think you are murderers, in the traditional sense; you made a mistake in the beginning of this drug peddling, and I wish to break the cycle. I beg of you, as Earth's representative, that you take up my offer and not risk the backlash of Earth's defenders, terrestrial and none, which are many, deny it or not. Needless slaughter..." Aggie took a deep breath. "Permission for an example to illustrate this."

The voice was steady, but increasingly tense.

"You may..."

"Martha Jones, did you, or did you not, along with your family, and the entire Human race, suffer at the hands of an extremely powerful being who sought to use the Human race for his own ends?"

"Absolutely," Martha replied with conviction.

"Did this, or did this not result in his destruction, indirectly because of his own actions, including the power of the Human race?"

Martha gave a small smile.

"Yes, that's correct."

"And what kind of being was defeated, even him, by his own misuse of a race for his own ends..?"

"A Time Lord. A renegade Time Lord."

"You see? If a Higher species could engineer his own destruction, what could be the result of this? I am saying to you, on Earth we have something known as replacement therapy, to tear someone away from the spirals of addiction to a pleasurable substance. I have that replacement therapy, that I have obtained at great cost..."

Jack interrupted her.

"What? When? From where...?"

Aggie waved her hand at him to be quiet.

"It has worked before, in a different context, granted, but I have reworked it. You will forget this 'high'. Mind alteration is not something I condone; but, that said, I spent years creating this, with help from the greatest science has to offer, for you, and others whom I wish to help. You will not know of this, and it works, more brilliantly than I ever imagined..."

"Prove it..."

"That Time Lord? Some clandestine followers retreived a Trace from a ring, from the ashes, and attempted to bring him back. I packed a stun gun, and I went in search of them. Using a primitive time-travel technology, I returned to the point where they restored him. I placed this device, this 'replacement therapy' to his head, and I reversed a Time Lord signal, a noise that had driven him mad and, unfortunately, some of his memories-of the Earth..."

She looked at Martha, who gave her a look that said, _I understand_.

"He is now famous all over the universe for his..." she sighed. "...intergalatic cleaning franchise."

"What!"

"But the drumming was from..."

"Saxon Industries?" the voice asked, disbelieving. "He is a _Time Lord_?

"It's irrelvant, he's not interested in that anymore."

"I will consider your proposal."

Aggie was ecstatic.

"Thank you!"

The static ended abruptly.

Jack was dumbfounded.

"How the hell is he _that_ famous?"

"It's the Master!" Martha said in hushed tones. "He doesn't do anything by half...same man or not!"

"Don't need to tell me twice!"

They both turned to Aggie.

"That's not true is it?"

"No, I bloody made it up!" she gabbled, breathless with excitement. "'Course it is!"

"All of it?"

"Who was this 'best that science has to offer'?"

"Oh, just some pariah scientists. The Time Lords weren't the only ones with a couple of survivors..."

"But-"

"I've fixed it."

"How did you even..."

"The Doctor?"

"Acquired skills from the Doctor, yeah."

"You're amazing!" Martha found herself saying.

"I had good teachers," Aggie replied earnestly.

Suddenly the static started back up again.

"Hand over the device. Your compassion and audacity are testament to your primitive, struggling race."

"I will observe this," Aggie requested, firmly.

"Granted."

"But after it is complete, you must repent for your arrogance."

"What?"

"What?" Jack echoed.

"Is this a deal, Brown?"

She looked at Martha and Jack defiantly.

"You do your side, and I will do mine."

"Granted. Come forward. Place the device in the Communication Blanketer."

"High-level psychic control, common in this part of the universe, scourge of totalitarianism, and possibly the worst propagator and spreader of addiction in the known universe. And the best scenario for me. He doesn't mind, he'll have control."

She fished something out of the pocket of her coat. Martha and Jack couldn't see what it was.

Martha watched her fearfully.

"She's definitely spent too much time with him."

She walked forward, towards the psuedo-tank of gas. A slot appeared. She placed the device into it, but before she did, she kissed it, for luck.

Well, almost.

It disappeared instantly and Aggie was afraid for her hand.

Silence. For a few seconds.  
Then a few more seconds. Aggie crossed her fingers and closed her eyes behind her sunglasses.

Suddenly there was a blast of light, the brightest light any of them had ever seen. White, then green. They covered their faces, it stung their eyes, burned into their heads, immersed them in light.

And then it just stopped.

Martha opened her eyes, and found herself on the floor. She looked up, slowly, her head throbbing.

"Now, you must repent!" the voice called.

The slot opened once again, slower this time, like there was another part of the mechanism.

There was a hiss of neon-bright gas, straight at Aggie.

"You must sacrifice yourself, we have fufilled your wish...!"

It hit her and she reeled slightly, but seemed otherwise unharmed.

She breathed deeply and loooked up at the ceiling, like she was having some sort of inspiration from it.

"You're not as powerful as you think, in fact...you're downright idiotic!"

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she fell to the floor.

"Take her away, we want nothing more to do with your pathetic race!"

"Hypocrites!" Martha snarled. "What was the point of...?"

"C'mon, let's just get the hell out of here," Jack whispered urgently.

Jack ran over to her, fighting his pounding head. He knelt down, fiddled with the Vortex Manipulator on her wrist, gripped her, and beckoned Martha. She held tightly on to Aggie's hand.

"Reset button-"

And he pressed it, as hard as he could.

***

They fell forwards, the journey extrapolating the pain in their heads almost unbearably, Martha let go a split second too early, flinching, and ended up some eighty yards away from the car park entrance, semi-concious.

Jack gasped loudly, began to check Aggie's vital signs. As he did so, she started to regain some colour.

She stirred, and murmured something.

"Get off!"

Jack wondered how she could muster that level of bitterness.

"Stop!"

"You're not...hey!"

She thrashed at him.

"It's okay, you're safe, it's over!"

She looked terrified, so he instinctively held her to him, before she could object.

She squealed into his shoulder, thrashing her arms.

"It's alright!"

She continued to flap for a few more seconds, and then relented. And there was complete silence, once again. All Jack could hear was the beating of their hearts.

Hers was beating so fast, it overlapped his.

Wait, what?

He loosened his grip on her and she looked up at him, her eyes wide.

That's not possible. Overlapped by that much? It was more than that. It was another sound, just slightly more than an echo.

Across the car park, Martha, too, stirred.

"Oh, you're kidding me!"

"You can't tell her."

"You're...no wonder you're such a...how the hell did I not guess that?"

She took a shuddering breath.

"Because I didn't want you to."

"Time Lord?" he whispered.

"Don't tell her!"

"But-"

"Promise!" she growled, softly.

"I'll take your word for it."

"That's it. No more questions. This stops here."

"Yes ma'am!"

"You can't tell her," Aggie whispered. "Not yet... it might scare her off. And she's good."

"Again, I'll take your word for it."

Jack sat back, and put his hand to his head, completely flummoxed, physically and mentally winded.

"You trust me more now?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"The Doctor knows, but not when you next see him, so keep your mouth shut."

"Oh, yes ma'am."

"Good. Now put me in the car."

"Don't push it."

"Hey, invalid here!"

Martha appeared, her eyes still slightly askew.

"Anyone need a doctor?" she mumbled, still unsteady on her feet.

"Yeah," Jack answered tiredly. "All three of us."


	7. Chapter 6 The Nature of Insanity

Chapter 6- The Nature of Insanity

**Author's Notes:** Spoilers to _Children of Earth_, Series 4, and to end of Tenth Doctor era.

* * *

"Doctor?"

"It's alright, it's over," he said gently.

"It's stopped," Donna replied, barely audible.

The Doctor just looked at her.

"But you said-"

"I know, but something's changed," he answered simply. "Don't ask me how."

"You don't have to..?"

"Apparently not."

She launched herself at him, and began to sob with joyous relief.

He hugged her back.

"So you did do it? How long's it been?" she said into his shoulder.

He smiled at her insight.

"Yeah, but it's been...I don't even know the word; and I don't know, but take a guess; you're wearing the same clothes,"

"I know you had to," she murmured.

"Thank you."

"Is this...Leicester Square!"

"Someone has taste. And timing too, judging by your temparature, you can't have been here long at all!"

"Didn't take you long to get excited, did it?"

"I'm sorry but I have to find out what happened here-"

"'Cause 'someone did what you thought was impossible'?"

"Don't do that."

He looked concerned.

"Whoever it is, I'm glad they're on our side, let me just say that."

He slowly moved away from her and stood up. He noticed the note stuck to the back of the TARDIS had a P.T.O., scruffily, like it was a last minute thing. He turned it over. It had yesterday's date and a time, and said 'Take her home!' and an arrow.

"They went to your house! Of course, they'll know who did this! I'm gonna say your grandad opened the door, your mother-meh..."

He helped her to her feet. She hugged him again, and he returned it, and they just stood there for a good minute.

They parted and he gave her a characteristically large smile. But she was looking past him, in the distance.

"What?"

"Look!"

The Doctor spun around. There a few hundred yards away, just walking down the street, was Jack, and close behind him, with a rather large bag of clothes, was Martha.

"Oh, you're kidding me!"

"This is all connected, isn't it?"

Martha spotted them and pointed, and broke into a run, and Jack followed suit.

Donna squealed instinctively.

Martha reached them and uncharacteristically joined in with the squealing and hugged Donna enthusiastically.

The Doctor pulled a face, good-naturedly, in the split-second before she also hugged him with equal endeavor. Jack watched them, smiling, before being jumped on by all three of them.

"Great," he responded, pretending to looked peeved.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, we just got back from saving reality itself, so we thought we'd have a holiday- Ianto's babysitting and Gwen's on a date night- and day," she added.

"Let's just say, the future's bright...-er," said Jack.

The Doctor was dumbfounded.

"These neotemporal splits are following me!" He said to Donna, like it was a completely regular annoyance.

"Wait? Her memory-"

"Oh, nice of you to remember! All fixed!"

"I had to look it up, you know, I put the pieces together," Jack explained regretfully.

Donna looked at the Doctor.

"They were spying on your house," said the Doctor. "I'll allow it."

"Yeah, Jack told me, I'm sorry," Martha added.

"Nah, all back to normal now."

Jack looked at the Doctor.

His eyes shone, and he really wanted to tell him about Aggie, who had given them instructions to tell him nothing in addition to the warning she had given just to Jack, and had bounded away, telling them the Doctor was nearby, and taking the Vortex Manipulator with her.

Jack had a sneaking suspicion that she had used the device she had on the 456 and the Master on Donna.

"We were just going to Donna's," he announced and shoved the note in Jack's face.

_He's gonna know soon, anyway._

Jack read the note.

_'It's all fixed'. Fixed. Of course it's her!_

"Are we going or not!" The Doctor continued. "D'you want to come this time?"

It was directed at Martha.

"Yeah, I do," she replied grinning. He grinned back.

"C'mon then!"

They all followed him like ducklings, and were not ashamed to do so. As Martha entered the TARDIS, the foreboding she'd felt when she'd been dragged off to Messaline was gone.

She was euphoric.

***

Donna knocked on the door of her house. The Doctor beamed at Martha, who returned it. The door opened instantly. Wilf opened the door; he'd only literally stepped through it himself.

"Oh, you did it!" he announced and Donna rushed forward to hug him.

"Guess who's back, Gramps!"

"Oh, she did it!"

"I'm sorry, but this is important. Who did what?" The Doctor asked hurriedly.

"The girl! That came for Donna! She said she could fix her, and she did!"

"Did she have a name?"

"Oh, I'll never forget that! Aggie, it was, Aggie Brown. Black coat, sunglasses on, at night! Surely you've seen her?"

Jack wasn't that shocked.

"No, I found Donna in Leicester Square," the Doctor replied, perplexed.

"Well, she does like her mysterious!"

"When did you find her?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Oh, well then!"

"She pinched the Vortex Manipulator," sighed Jack.

"Wait, what, sorry?"

"Alright! You really don't like it when you're not involved, do you?"

"You know her?"

"Yeah, she came with us, you know, saving reality and shit," Jack said gingerly. "She came waltzing in one day, and she, er...seemed like a useful person to have around,"

"Waltzed in...Torchwood!"

"Well, I think you've gathered she's a bit clever."

"What is it with people named Agatha!" the Doctor looked baffled.

"But she's, oh..."

"Well, she must have shortened it! Which means she must be young, and probably from this time or later."

Donna snorted.

"She probably had parents who were a fan of Poirot! Oh, that would have been a good anecdote 'we know someone named after you!'"

She smiled.

"You can empathise!" she added, looking straight at the Doctor.

"That's a stretch for good gossip," the Doctor frowned at her. "What else do we know?"

"That's it. Her name's Aggie, she's bloody clued up on aliens, like, your level almost-"

"Hold on, didn''t she say she travelled with him?"

"Didn't she also say not to tell the Doctor anything?"

"Oh, cheers! I don't like this!" the Doctor said stonily. "I don't like this at all..."

"You've just not met her yet!"

"I suppose, but-"

"Like you said, she's on our side!"

"But all this secrecy, what for?"

"Oh, says you!"

"Don't start."

"Accept it, we have a guardian angel."

The Doctor looked distinctly repulsed.

"Ugh!"

"Should we tell him?"

"Tell me what?"

"Oh, Martha..." said Jack, lamentingly.

"She gave me this," she handed it to the Doctor. It was a small business card, advertising an intergalactic cleaning franchise.

"She saved him," she said gently.

"What?"

"Long story short, someone tried to resurrect him, his ring...anyway she took him from them, and saved him like she did Donna,"

"What?" the Doctor repeated, breathlessly. "Who the hell could...?"

"We don't know either, that's the sum total of what we've got,"

"She got rid of the drumming? No way. Totally impossible."

"He's the CEO of this company!" Martha chimed. "He's famous, all over the universe!"

She gripped his arm.

"Don't you get it? It's impossible!"

"Obviously not!"

"It was them. The High Council, they did this to him, to form some sort of connection, some sort of signal, so they could...that's where she traced it to."

"Why do I believe you?" The Doctor said bitterly. "Something out of the dark. Gallifrey. The War. Here and now. And people wonder! That was their plan. That's why it had to end. One- there as too much suffering, and two, this..."

Donna stared.

"I thought you were the good guys. Being blunt."

"Not at the end of the War, they weren't."

Martha was stunned. Jack looked at the floor.

"And you weren't going to mention this?" he turned on Jack.

"No. There must be a reason-"

"She's obviously very connected, Jack! Why is she here? Why did she tell you all this?"

"She used it as an example to a hostile species that were bent on the slaughter of millions of Human children. She used it as an example; her alternative, a device, most definitely the one that was used on Donna and the Master. They needed the children, as a drug, a high, she offered to renmove all traces of memories of that addiction, instead."

"That's what you were doing?"

"Yeah, just saving the universe!"

"Negotiation with advanced species megalomaniacs? I take it she led this?"

"Yeah, we were her plus two."

"Why would I teach her that? After I knew, I know... here and now! I would do it myself, I wouldn't let one of my friends do it for me, or give them the means or reason or skills to!"

"Maybe not intentionally."

"This is way beyond that!"

"Then how does she...?"

"Oh you don't believe him, do you?"

"Jack!"

"Even you can't predict the future, not like that!"

"This, this is insane! And I know insane!"

"You're threatened by her!"

"_Yeah, you didn't check her for pocket watches, did you?_!" said the Doctor ferociously, his face inches from Jack's.

Jack said nothing.

"I know you know, so say it!"

"Say what?" Martha said timidly.

"She doesn't know. Don't you start!

The Doctor shurugged, half-petulant, half-threateningly foreboding. Go on then.

"She's a Time Lord. And it's not Jenny in disguise or anything. She talked about her, something about her stealing a spaceship from Messaline to save the world. Sound familiar!"

"Keep a better eye on your time-travel space hopper, for one thing!" He snarled. "And Jenny's dead!"

"Obviously not!"

Wilfred looked at Donna, completely lost.

"What...? And she could be anyone, Jack! And the only 'Time Lord' that was against all this, last time I looked, was me! So what does that mean, Jack, huh? She's obviously a threat!"

"What go to this effort just to bring it crashing down? That's..."

"Psychopathic. This is obviously the Master! She obviously-don't you see!"

"I really don't," Martha said, almost in tears. "She said you told her I was brilliant!"

"Yes you do, Martha Jones. Yes you do! Did you bring her into this?" he looked at Jack accusingly.

"I swear on however many lives I've had, you can trust her!"

"You don't know her!"

"I know they same amount about her as I do about you!"

"How long were you with her?"

Jack sighed.

"Two days."

"Not suspicious at all then! Going on about 'secrecy' but subtly telling you everything? Do I do that!" The Doctor yelled. "You idiot!"

"She didn't want me to know she wasn't human, she was injured and I noticed she had two hearts!"

"But she let you notice?"

Jack was speechless.

"You know for such a long lived person, you're remarkably stupid!"

"She could be anyone."

"Yes, yes she could!"

Martha's eyes spilled over.

"She can't...all the stuff she said, the way she negotiated with the 456, the way she said it! She sounds so much like you! You, not the Master! She's not some psycho masquerading as a human, using a government position, creating a low-level psychic network! She's you, she's not some mental, bitter megalomaniac!"

The Doctor's face softened.

"I'm sorry!"

"The Master had nothing but contempt for the Human race. She wouldn't do what she did, she specifically went to Jack for help, to prevent an alternate reality," Martha's voice toughened. "I don't think she would go to all that effort, if she had that level of disgust for 'the world's greatest monsters' and wasn't ashamed!"

He just looked at her.

"She saved Donna! She made the Master new again! For you!"

"But why would she do that?"

"For all reality! That's another reality, she had to fix it, otherwise, I don''t know, it's destruction or something! Why would she reform the Master?"

"That's assuming she didn't make it up!"

"It's real! It's all there all over the universe! She showed us the Saxon Industries headquarters, she liked showing it off, all this stuff she'd done in your image! You could see the Master through the bloody window, in a fucking _board meeting_!"

"Martha!"

"Go and see, go and see for yourself! He's saving the world one bathroom at a time!"

"Why for me?"

"She obviously loves you just as much as we do, she's just a hell of a lot more capable than we'll ever be because she's not human!"

"Oh don't..."

"If you trust me, believe me!"

"I believe you!"

"Right, so next time less of the scaremongering!" she shouted, pointing a finger.

"Yeah well if you were me, would you jump to that conclusion?"

"I know! Just for future reference, _Doctor_!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Good, can we go in now?"

"Alright, but we are going to talk about this."

"Later."

***

The Doctor deliberately sat next to Martha when they were in Donna's living room.

He didn't say much. He looked at Jack as if to say, 'I can see why, even if I'll never completely forget this.'

Donna was off making tea and was babbling away to Wilfred in the kitchen. The Doctor listened fondly, astonished at how happy it made him, even here and now.

"It must be huge for you, I'm sorry," Martha blurted out.

"I trust you," he answered softly. "I just have a hard time believing in them anymore."

Martha didn't know what to say.

"Time Lords; not you lot," he said emphatically.

"So, where do we go from here?"

"We _hope_; that you're right, and we carry on."

"I don't want to go back to Cardiff," she found herself saying.

"You can go back to London, we're not gonna stop you," Jack stated kindly. "Freelance, remember?"

"Yeah but, seeing her...would Donna mind, if I came aswell?"

"No, I'm sure she won't," he smiled at her. "Yeah, you can come too," he added pointedly, fixing his eyes on Jack.

Jack hesistated for a second.

"_Oh, don't bloody salute_!"


	8. Interlude Aggie

Chapter 8: Interlude- Aggie

I miss you so much, but I had to do this.

We did it though! We saved the world! Reality itself! Oh, you already know, not the way you would've wanted, I know, at first, but it all made sense, didn't it?

I know you'd approve, if you knew.

One day, one day, you'll know, of all this, well you already do, that's why I've taken the Vortex Manipulator- to get back to the you that admires me and is proud of me.

Unfortunately in the meantime, I kind of, accidently walked out in front of a bus, so, I'll look different, but you'll be fine with that; you'll say, how clumsy are you.

They know the new me better than you do, wow- that was so long ago!

I picked up a few things for you. And I have my own sonic, I don't need yours, so no, I don't have it!

I miss you. It's weird seeing them, when they didn't know me! They have it all to come! And so do you!

I can see you now, I missed you.

Now I have to find the right way to made that you into this you.

Hmm, I think I know how I can do that...


	9. Chapter 7 Like It Should Be?

Chapter 7- Like It Should Be?

**Author's Notes:** Last part of first story. Sequel 'Captivation' to be added. (because as of now, I've not uploaded it yet!)

* * *

"Right, to stop any arguments, this is how it will be. One; normal buggering about on random planets, two, nights in in TARDIS: Donna, I'm having that music on whether you like it or not; three, to save arguments, individual trips, one at a time, to cut any resentment in its tracks, every so often...this fighting over me is distinctly uncomfortable and so, I intend to stop it before it begins, since this is the first time there's been all four of us-"

"And you used to be cool."

"Oh, yeah, because you are the height of cool, Mister Deliberately Flirty and Enigmatic for Ego Massage," the Doctor retorted. "I just thought, we'd try something new, new universe, new plan. I just thought it was a nice idea."

"Makes sense," Martha commented. "Although not giving us much credit, there are you?"

"Right, I've put your names in a hat, I will pick one out at random and that's who will be first," the Doctor announced. "End of discussion."

"Shall we?"

"I've found a very interesting place to look round. Keep your mouths shut though, their art is brilliant but, like some artists, not that big on humour, but I'm not going to let that put me off."

"I think we should call them Ego Massage One and Two," said Donna, smirking.

"Yeah- well he can be number one!"

"Hold on, is this descending or ascending?"

Donna shook her head and smiled fondly.

"Does it matter?"

"I'm not being ranked above him; I'm not a manwhore," grumbled the Doctor, pointing at Jack.

"Hey!"

"I beg to differ," replied Donna, still grinning.

"Oh, be quiet!"

"I didn't know it swore," she said to Martha, who shrugged in agreement.

"Who knew?"

"'It'?"

"Are we going or not?"

"Oh, I'm joking!"

"Oi! Designated driver!"

"'It'?"

"Congratulations, you've vastly reduced his vocabulary for the near future."

"Let's just go already before some people lose some more!" The Doctor pointed at the door.

"Lovely man," Martha said to Donna, deliberately loudly, as they passed him.

He just shook his head.

"Alright, how about a hotel and some cocktails?"

"Much better."

The Doctor quickly pulled some levers and there was a jolt, and they all fell over.

"Oh, it looks like Twister!"

"Just drive the thing!"

"It's a she, she'll get you for that."

"Okay, somewhere warm, somewhere basic," the Doctor mused. "No aliens."

"There's a flaw in that plan!"

"What? Oh, I don't count!"

They all got to their feet. As they did so, the Doctor pulled levers and switches in earnest, and then slammed the brake off, sending them all flying again.

"Oh, men are such idiots!" Donna protested, as Jack smirked at her and Martha, who were entangled and much worse off than him.

"Everyone OK?"

"No thanks to you!"

Martha had landed awkwardly on her wrist and was rubbing it.

"Honestly!"

The Doctor noticed and immediately tried to return to looking serious.

The TARDIS became silent once again.

"I'm glad to see you too," Donna announced and headed for the door. She said something under her breath.

The Doctor followed them out. "Don't call people names!" he said patting Donna's shoulder, like she was a child.

"Must kill him!" she stated, pulling a face at him behind his back.

"Are we getting drinks by the pool anytime soon?"

"Amen to that!"

The TARDIS was behind a hotel. It was balmy, and full of buildings in pastel shades.

"Drinks at pool; move to beach when drunk," the Doctor instructed.

"Miami? Really?"

"Yeah!" said the Doctor, offended. "Why the hell not?"

"Amen to that!" Martha beamed at him. He smirked back at her.

***

They hogged the bar of the hotel pool for a good hour, and were quite tipsy by the time the Doctor decided it would be fun to chase Jack with a water pistol and push him in the pool.

Martha and Donna laughed uproariously, as the Doctor made faces at him in triumph. Jack wasn't so easy; he took it as another opportunity to take his clothes off and joke about it. So the Doctor whacked him across the head with the water pistol.

"Ladies, enough!"

"Oh, look at me, I'm in my underwear, ha, ha, ha!" The Doctor aimed the plastic toy at his head again. "Smug git!"

Jack tried to back away, and almost knocked Martha off her stool.

"Oi!" she repeated. "Pack it in please, ladies." She noticed her wrist was still throbbing.

The Doctor looked at her, genuinely contrite. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

Donna grabbed the water pistol from the Doctor and proceeded to squirt Jack with it, and he tried to get it off her; they ended up chasing each other around the pool.

The Doctor watched them with raised eyebrows.

Martha flinched.

"That was stupid, I'm so sorry."

"Painkillers and ice at most, don't worry about it."

"Shouldn't you have done that before now, qualified doctor?"

"Oh, I don't care today."

"Me neither."

There was a splash as Jack jumped in the pool to escape Donna. He got out, soaked, for the second time in ten minutes.

"Put some clothes on!" Martha called.

"Seriously," added the Doctor. "It doesn't leave that much to the imagination."

"Ha! You looked!"

"You can't not look! I mean...look!" The Doctor gestured at Jack. "He needs new underwear!"

Jack reached them, dripping everywhere.

"When did _you_ last get new underwear?"

The Doctor looked at Martha, who was still in pain.

"Go on, do that on the beach where someone won't slip," he said calmly. "No more injuries, please."

"Again, you used to be cool."

"Beach!"

He pointed vaguely.

"And you, that wrist needs sorting."

"Alright, fine!"

Donna retrieved her sunhat and sunglasses that were somewhere in the heaps of boxes she'd stored in the TARDIS wardrobe, and Jack found something less revealing to wear and they'd headed for the beach, under stony looks from the Doctor. Meanwhile, he'd set about rummaging for a First Aid kit.

"I swear it's under 'f'," he grumbled, rifling through boxes underneath the console room.

"Have you tried 'm' for medicine or 'i' for injuries?"

"I! It's under I! Ah, Martha Jones, honestly, we'd never survive without you!"

"I'll let you have that."

"Would ice packs also be under 'i'?"

The Doctor gave her a puzzled look.

"No, they'd melt, they're in the fridge."

Martha actually felt bad she hadn't realised this. The Doctor saw her face and came over to her.

"Not funny?"

"That was really stupid."

"It's a joke."

"I waltzed off, I left Tom, I lied to my mum."

"He'll understand, one day, and so will your family, you're there when it's important, you stayed for them before. You know what you're doing."

"I hope so-"

"And you didn't just abandon him... he must have known; he must have known it was coming? It was obviously over very quickly, so logically..."

She was genuinely grateful.

"You're too nice to me."

"I'm right, though," he chimed and went off in search of ice packs. He came back a few minutes later complete with a First Aid kit, painkillers, ice packs and for some reason, lemonade. He handed the ice pack to her.

"Beach?"

"Yeah."

He bounded out, and she followed him.

She watched him. It felt like everything had been erased, reversed.

_There's no getting out this time._


End file.
